Using social media outlets can literally open up your company to a whole new corner of the market.

Forming a good connection with your customers will guarantee that customers come back and continue to be satisfied with what your company offers.

The Setting? A girl from college had tweeted last semester that she wished there was something besides coffee that could allow her to stay up all night and study for her final exams.

So then what happened? Red Bull happened to see her tweet soon after and offer her samples of their new products.

Results? When I heard about this from a friend, I was immediately impressed by Red Bull and was curious to see if their new line of drinks could help me focus and concentrate better too. I’m sure the girl from college also thought very positively of Red Bull being so proactive in advertising their product in a very human way.

Why should you listen? People will have opportunities to learn about your business that may never have happened other-wise. people who already know about you could become more loyal. Every social media word you create and send out into the world can open a door leading back to your site. And finally, people like doing business with other people; not with companies.

Points to consider:

Like Red Bull, your interactions with customers online has to be personal. The tweets, Instagram photos, or Facebook statuses have to be able bring about an effect on your followers, friends, and fans. Make their heart ache a little by showing a sweet photo of a father and son, just in time for Father’s Day.

See what’s trending online and post something about them. These posts will get a bit more attention than usual, so cash in!

Promote your company – just try to be as creative as possible. A lot of promotions and advertisements are thinking quite literally outside the side ad boxes on popular websites. It is not only big companies like Red Bull doing this. Notable celebrities like Taylor Swift and Rihanna are always posting on social media outlets, interacting with their fans in this way, and continuously promoting their image. Take a page from their book and do the same for your business.

So be consistent with when you post on social media. Don’t post every day for a week and then stop for the next two weeks. Interact with customers and potential partners-be proactive like Red Bull! And stick to your brand!

It’s also a good idea to assign only one or two employees to update content on social media outlets. That way the updates will most likely stay focus and consistent with the company brand. And like anything else practice makes perfect so letting one or two employees practice, they should become “Social Media Gurus” in no time!

Keep in mind that every one of these social media platforms are different. Some content on one platform might work great, on another platform they can fall flat. One idea; Check out other businesses that are similar to yours and see what works for them.

Eliminate Your Computer Support Problems

Network down?

Printer offline?

VPN underperforming?

Email over capacity?

Overwhelmed by spam?

System under a virus attack?

Tired of the problems? We have designed many IT administration and support solutions specifically to solve all these problems and others. Growing organizations do face computer support obstacles like these. The Computer Company has already solved these problems for many of our clients and we know how to do the same for you. Get your business back up to full efficiency.

Computer Support: Strengths and Skills

With our 24/7 customer support services, immediate response is guaranteed and we’ll stay focused on your needs until the problem has been resolved. Our total IT support services include:

Staff Support

We’ll augment your current IT staff and provide deep technical expertise at a rate more affordable than adding more staff

Risk Minimization

When your IT staff is unavailable, we can immediately resolve many IT problems. Use us as your emergency staff and always have IT help available.

Efficiency Optimization

Regular maintenance and system health reviews reduce downtime and increase the overall efficiency of your network. A thorough IT audit can reduce, if not eliminate, the expense of future infrastructure outages.

Cloud Computing

Cloud computing services and cloud storage deliver software applications, data access, data administration and storage for everyday businesses saving time and money. Because your server will be part of the cloud you will access your data from anywhere at any time.

The Computer Company prevents natural and man-made disasters from becoming computer and business disasters.

Replication

Off-site Back ups

Data Center

Business Continuity

Remote Office Space

We offer a full range of disaster recovery consulting services, practices, and solutions for your business to prevent many events, minimize any damage, and return your system to its full capabilities as soon as possible. Do you require a hosting company that is flexible enough to meet your unique environment? The Computer Company will work with you to architect a design that provides the necessary bandwidth, processing power and storage so your business can seamlessly operate in the cloud.

When your goal is to sell products, you need the right infrastructure, navigation, and product descriptions that help make the sale. Selling your products is problem-free when customers can find what they are looking for, understand the product they are buying, and can purchase on demand. The Computer Companyprovides you with everything it takes to sell products and services online.

In today’s digital economy, people want to conduct business quickly, easily and wherever and whenever they feel like it. Therefore, in order to compete in the 21st century, a company must be conducting business 24/7.9

E-commerce Strategies for Shopping Carts

The Computer Company will develop your shopping cart database so your products are found fast by search engines. Details like shipping and tracking are always built right in.

Shopping carts can do the following for your business:

Calculate shipping charges and taxes

Know the selling price of your merchandise

Allow for multiple purchases

Provide shipping to addresses not on file

Apply promotions and discounts

Show customer order summaries and confirmations

eCommerce – The Computer Company’s programming skills and focus on security will enable your business to fully capitalize on the vast potential in web-based and real time credit card transactions.

eCommerce & eBusiness examples:

Accounts payable and receivable

Order status

Shipping, Customer service, support and problem tracking

Order History

Email Marketing

Accounts Payable & Receivable

Real-time payment processing (checks, credit/debit cards)

Reporting

Inventory Control

Secure Transactions

The Computer Company develops online stores that are secure and easy to use.

Why Should You Consider Getting Email Encryption?

Ensure Your Communications Are Safe & Confidential

When sending emails to customers, employees, or business partners, your business has to ensure that any sensitive information you send is completely secure. Every industry in today’s marketplace has a need for encrypted email communications – simply hoping that no unwelcome eyes are viewing your information is not enough. Keep your emails completely confidential with The Computer Company’s encrypted email services.

Encrypting Your Emails is Easy

Once our email encryption services are implemented, securing your emails is simple. With a click of a button, your emails can be encrypted and decrypted. Receivers of your encrypted email only have to go to a secure site and create an account to view your email. Once your email receiver has an account, they just login to view any of your subsequent encrypted emails. Your email encryption is easy, simple, and fast thanks to The Computer Company. Best of all, it’s guaranteed to be secure. While other companies may have to worry about hacking, phishing, and other digital threats, your company can rest easy knowing your communications are under lock and key.

Email Encryption Is Especially Important For…

Finance – Whether you’re in the finance industry, or simply handle a lot of money in your day-to-day business dealings, email encryption is key to ensure financial information is secure.

Government – Government entities need to be more concerned than the average organization about security and privacy of information. Our email encryption services can handle thousands upon thousands of encrypted emails and receiver accounts. The public trusts you – and you can trust us.

Healthcare – Patient information is one of the most sensitive issues in the medical field. This is true whether you are a hospital, a clinic, or an insurance company. Allowing this sensitive information to fall in the wrong hands can lead to legal troubles, emotional harm, and even patient illness or death.

Your company can’t afford to have your private and confidential information hijacked by a hacker or a competitor.

]]>http://blog.computercompany.net/?feed=rss2&p=14480Avoid Data Loss with these Simple Stepshttp://blog.computercompany.net/?p=1440
http://blog.computercompany.net/?p=1440#commentsThu, 14 Sep 2017 15:26:47 +0000http://blog.computercompany.net/?p=1440Data loss is a huge problem that can be avoided by just following a few simple steps.

Information on your computer is highly valuable, and it is important to take all possible precautions to avoid a disaster that could end up costing you money and time. We came across this guideline from werecoverdata.com and believe it can be of value to you! Save yourself the hassle and use the following tips to protect your data!

Safety tips to avoid data loss

Always back up your data, especially when upgrading your system. Make sure that copies of your most important data are being kept off site

Always turn your computer off using the operating system shut down process

Always use up-to-date hardware and software utilities for data security, such as virus protections and firewalls

Laptops should be operated on a hard and flat surface to allow proper ventilation and to avoid over heating

Servers should have fans, ventilation or portable air conditioning systems as close as possible to avoid operating in high temperatures.

Allow enough space around the external drive’s cooling fans and remove any items that may block air flow

Do not turn off peripheral devices while computer is on, or when disc is active

Drives should be stable and stationary when operating. If you have to move your computer – turn it off first

When touching or handling the media, make sure to avoid static electricity

If you hear unusual sounds coming from your computer, turn it off immediately to avoid further damage.

If Your System Fails, Could You Recover?

Disasters do happen. The question is, when something fails, will it be a temporary inconvenience or a business-shaking crisis? When a hard drive crashes, can you be back in business in hours? If a natural disaster shuts your network down, can you recover every business critical application that day?

The Computer Company prevents natural and man-made disasters from becoming computer and business disasters.

Replication

Off-site Back ups

Data Center

Business Continuity

Remote Office Space

We offer a full range of disaster recovery consulting services, practices, and solutions for your business to prevent many events, minimize any damage, and return your system to its full capabilities as soon as possible. We do disaster recovery right.

It still shocks us, how in this day and age, people can be so resistant to doing business on the web. I remember the owner of one apartment complex telling us how he doesn’t “believe in the web.” I wondered, how else are people going to find you? And consider this. He has an average of 10 empty apartments a month. So that’s an average loss of $1200 per unit, times 12 months…$144,000 a year! Wow! He won’t spend a dime on the web. If you are thinking, this doesn’t make sense, you are not alone in that thought.

The importance of growing your business and expanding your Web brand using all the strategic Internet tools available cannot be overstated.

Fresh updates

Online Videos showing your product or service.

SEO – get found by those waiting to buy from you.

Social Media.

Obtaining quality sales leads and gaining new customers online

Expanding market reach, communicating with existing customers

And increasing your company’s online sales reach should absolutely be a part of the overall strategic sales and marketing strategy for any business today. Why not?

With the exponential increase in the sheer number of people searching, business employees, B2B buyers, purchasing managers, engineers, and B2C consumers in all corners of the globe, searching the Internet on a daily basis; searching for new products, services, new technologies, and to shop at ecommerce websites online; it is imperative that the sales and marketing message being portrayed in the website be right on target with what they need.

The online marketing message is what sets a business apart from the competition, and provides the means for a website to be found in the search engines for the various keywords specific to each business. And, make no mistake about it, horizontal and vertical markets can be quickly tapped into using the Internet.

It is important not to underestimate the online sales web power of a website. It is the face of your company. It can be one of the most best web marketing strategies and online advertising communications that your company can invest in, which can significantly provide more sales and qualified leads through the various online marketing channels.

Learn 3 ways we can bring you more business –

Call today 800 418 2358.

What are you waiting for? Why wait? Do you want to start bringing in those new customers and sales leads via the Web? With The Computer Companies Web Services we can get your website found online in the search engine results. Contact us today for an online marketing services quote and start bringing in more leads and sales results for your business tomorrow. Utilize the power of the web.

]]>http://blog.computercompany.net/?feed=rss2&p=5240Are You Keeping Your Data Safe?http://blog.computercompany.net/?p=450
http://blog.computercompany.net/?p=450#commentsWed, 30 Aug 2017 14:12:44 +0000http://blog.computercompany.net/?p=450How would you answer that question? How can you keep your business information safe?

Sadly, what has happened in the city of Houston this week from the hurricane is an example of what can happen any where and to any business. If businesses have their business data backed up and secure off-site, they will be in a better position to resume business when the time comes. This is where the Cloud Storage Solution come in for most businesses. Why? To have Information Security you need to insure your business data is safe and confidential. It also needs to be quickly available when you need it.

So…. What are the risks to your business data?

No doubt you have seen the news, computers and the information more then ever are vulnerable to wide variety of threats.

Environmental threats. Severe weather can cause outages or knock servers’ offline. Downed lines from a freak autumn snow storm last year left millions in the Northeast without power for several days.

Malicious software. All computers, especially those connected to the internet, are vulnerable to attacks, viruses, worms, Trojans and other malware that can exploit weaknesses and damage data.

Cyber crimes from hackers that attack and try to access your computer for malicious reasons.

Viruses, Spyware, Ransom-ware are other obvious ones.

Unexpected events like old server cables can also take down a business overnight.

Human error. Even an employee can accidentally delete critical files.

Unauthorized users. Firewalls and intrusion-detection systems can protect outside users from changing your data or accessing confidential information like human resources and payroll, but the largest risks often come from an organization’s own employees.

Technical failures. Damage to the equipment that stores, processes and transmits information can range from someone tripping over and disconnecting a cable to a catastrophic server crash.

Easy Solution: Keep Your Data Safe in the Cloud with the Computer Company

The Computer Company will provide far better security than most businesses would likely to have in-house. Why? Because the main key to keeping your business data secure is to make sure timely protections are in place. And that’s what we do!

Our flexible configurations allow you to choose the right options and hardware upgrades to optimize performance.

Choose from multiple CPU cores, maximum memory and flexible storage.

More organizations are realizing the benefits of co-locating their mission-critical equipment within a data center.

Co-location saves you thousands of dollars each year, not to mention the bother of spending time and energy towards ensuring the optimum performance of your server and your network.

Server co-location leaves you free to concentrate on your core business and better utilize the resources you would have spent on your in-house data center.

The Computer Company’s reliable and secure co-location will grow with you to fit your ever changing needs. We serve clients from coast to coast, using only the highest quality equipment and Internet bandwidth available.

Not only does The Computer Company provide co-location in Connecticut, we offer dedicated servers, data backup, migration and managed hosting services.

In fact, anti-malware scanners on the whole are horrifically inaccurate, especially with exploits less than 24 hours old. After all, malicious hackers and malware can change their tactics at will. Swap a few bytes around, and a previously recognized malware program becomes unrecognizable.

Here are 11 sure signs you’ve been hacked and what to do in the event of compromise.

Sure sign of system compromise No. 1: Fake antivirus messages

In slight decline these days, fake antivirus warning messages are among the surest signs that your system has been compromised. What most people don’t realize is that by the time they see the fake antivirus warning, the damage has been done. Clicking No or Cancel to stop the fake virus scan is too little, too late.

Why does the malicious program bother with the “antivirus warning”? This is because the fake scan, which always finds tons of “viruses,” is a lure to buy their product. Clicking on the provided link sends you to a professional-looking website, complete with glowing letters of recommendation. There, they ask you for your credit card number and billing information. You’d be surprised how many people get tricked into providing personal financial information. The bad guys gain complete control of your system and get your credit card or banking information. For bad guys, it’s the Holy Grail of hacking.

What to do: As soon as you notice the fake antivirus warning message, power down your computer. (Note: This requires knowing what your legitimate antivirus program’s warning looks like.) If you need to save anything and can do it, do so. But the sooner you power off your computer, the better. Boot up the computer system in Safe Mode, and try to uninstall the newly installed software (oftentimes it can be uninstalled like a regular program). Either way, follow up by trying to restore your system to a state previous to the exploitation. If successful, test the computer in regular mode and make sure that the fake antivirus warnings are gone. Then follow up with a complete antivirus scan. Oftentimes, the scanner will find other sneak remnants left behind.Please call us if you are experiencing any of these problems: 860.635.0500

Sure sign of system compromise No. 2: Unwanted browser toolbars

This is probably the second most common sign of exploitation: Your browser has multiple new toolbars with names that seem to indicate the toolbar is supposed to help you. Unless you recognize the toolbar as coming from a very well-known vendor, it’s time to dump the bogus toolbar.

What to do: Most browsers allow you to review installed and active toolbars. Remove any you didn’t absolutely want to install. When in doubt, remove it. If the bogus toolbar isn’t listed there or you can’t easily remove it, see if your browser has an option to reset the browser back to its default settings. If this doesn’t work, follow the instructions listed above for fake antivirus messages. You can usually avoid malicious toolbars by making sure that all your software is fully patched and by being on the lookout for free software that installs these tool bars. Hint: Read the licensing agreement. Toolbar installs are often pointed out in the licensing agreements that most people don’t read. Again please call us if you are experiencing this problem: 860.635.0500

Sure sign of system compromise No. 3: Redirected Internet searches

Many hackers make their living by redirecting your browser somewhere other than you want to go. The hacker gets paid by getting your clicks to appear on someone else’s website, often those who don’t know that the clicks to their site are from malicious redirection.

You can often spot this type of malware by typing a few related, very common words (for example, “puppy” or “goldfish”) into Internet search engines and checking to see whether the same websites appear in the results — almost always with no actual relevance to your terms. Unfortunately, many of today’s redirected Internet searches are well hidden from the user through use of additional proxies, so the bogus results are never returned to alert the user. In general, if you have bogus toolbar programs, you’re also being redirected. Technical users who really want to confirm can sniff their own browser or network traffic. The traffic sent and returned will always be distinctly different on a compromised computer vs. an uncompromised computer.

What to do: Follow the same instructions as above. Usually removing the bogus toolbars and programs is enough to get rid of malicious redirection.

Sure sign of system compromise No. 4: Frequent random popups

This popular sign that you’ve been hacked is also one of the more annoying ones. When you’re getting random browser pop-ups from websites that don’t normally generate them, your system has been compromised. I’m constantly amazed about which websites, legitimate and otherwise, can bypass your browser’s anti-pop-up mechanisms. It’s like battling email spam, but worse.

What to do: Not to sound like a broken record, but typically random pop-ups are generated by one of the three previous malicious mechanisms noted above. You’ll need to get rid of bogus toolbars and other programs if you even hope to get rid of the pop-ups. Call if you need help.

This is the one scenario where you might be OK. It’s fairly common for our email friends to receive malicious emails from us. A decade ago, when email attachment viruses were all the rage, it was very common for malware programs to survey your email address book and send malicious emails to everyone in it.

These days it’s more common for malicious emails to be sent to some of your friends, but not everyone in your email address book. If it’s just a few friends and not everyone in your email list, then more than likely your computer hasn’t been compromised (at least with an email address-hunting malware program). These days malware programs and hackers often pull email addresses and contact lists from social media sites, but doing so means obtaining a very incomplete list of your contacts’ email addresses. Although not always the case, the bogus emails they send to your friends often don’t have your email address as the sender. It may have your name, but not your correct email address. If this is the case, then usually your computer is safe.

What to do: If one or more friends reports receiving bogus emails claiming to be from you, do your due diligence and run a complete antivirus scan on your computer, followed by looking for unwanted installed programs and toolbars. Often it’s nothing to worry about, but it can’t hurt to do a little health check when this happens.

If one or more of your online passwords suddenly change, you’ve more than likely been hacked — or at least that online service has been hacked. In this particular scenario, usually what has happened is that the victim responded to an authentic-looking phish email that purportedly claimed to be from the service that ends up with the changed password. The bad guy collects the logon information, logs on, changes the password (and other information to complicate recovery), and uses the service to steal money from the victim or the victim’s acquaintances (while pretending to be the victim).

What to do: Call if you need help. If the scam is widespread and many acquaintances you know are being reached out to, immediately notify all your contacts about your compromised account. Do this to minimize the damage being done to others by your mistake. Second, contact the online service to report the compromised account. Most online services are used to this sort of maliciousness and can quickly get the account back under your control with a new password in a few minutes. Some services even have the whole process automated. A few services even have a “My friend’s been hacked!” button that lets your friends start the process. This is helpful, because your friends often know your account has been compromised before you do.

If the compromised logon information is used on other websites, immediately change those passwords And be more careful next time. Websites rarely send emails asking you to provide your logon information. When in doubt, go to the website directly (don’t use the links sent to you in email) and see if the same information is being requested when you log on using the legitimate method. You can also call the service via their phone line or email them to report the received phish email or to confirm its validity. Lastly, consider using online services that provide two-factor authentication. It makes your account much harder to steal.

Sure sign of system compromise No. 7: Unexpected software installs

Unwanted and unexpected software installs are a big sign that your computer system has likely been hacked. In the early days of malware, most programs were computer viruses, which work by modifying other legitimate programs. They did this to better hide themselves. For whatever reason, most malware programs these days are Trojans and worms, and they typically install themselves like legitimate programs. This may be because their creators are trying to walk a very thin line when the courts catch up to them. They can attempt to say something like, “But we are a legitimate software company.” Oftentimes the unwanted software is legally installed by other programs, so read your license agreements. Frequently, I’ll read license agreements that plainly state that they will be installing one or more other programs. Sometimes you can opt out of these other installed programs; other times you can’t.

What to do: There are many free programs that show you all your installed programs and let you selectively disable them. My favorite for Windows is autoruns It doesn’t show you every program installed but will tell you the ones that automatically start themselves when your PC is restarted. Most malware programs can be found here. The hard part is determining what is and what isn’t legitimate. When in doubt, disable the unrecognized program, reboot the PC, and re-enable the program only if some needed functionality is no longer working.

If your mouse pointer moves itself while making selections that work, you’ve definitely been hacked. Mouse pointers often move randomly, usually due to hardware problems. But if the movements involve making the correct choices to run particular programs, malicious humans are somewhere involved.

Not as common as some of the other attacks, many hackers will break into a computer, wait for it to be idle for a long time (like after
midnight), then try to steal your money. Hackers will break into bank accounts and transfer money, trade your stocks, and do all sorts of rogue actions, all designed to lighten your cash load.

What to do: If your computer “comes alive” one night, take a minute before turning it off to determine what the intruders are
interested in. Don’t let them rob you, but it will be useful to see what things they are looking at and trying to compromise. If you have a cellphone handy, take a few pictures to document their tasks. When it makes sense, power off the computer. Unhook it from the network (or disable the wireless router) and call in the professionals. This is the one time that you’re going to need expert help.

Using another known good computer, immediately change all your other logon names and passwords. Check your bank account transaction histories, stock accounts, and so on. Consider paying for a credit-monitoring service. If you’ve been a victim of this attack, you have to take it seriously. Complete restore of the computer is the only option you should choose for recovery. But if you’ve lost any money, make sure to let the forensics team make a copy first. If you’ve suffered a loss, call law enforcement and file a case. You’ll need this information to best recover your real money losses, if any.

This is a huge sign of malicious compromise. If you notice that your antimalware software is disabled and you didn’t do it, you’re probably exploited — especially if you try to start Task Manager or Registry Editor and they won’t start, start and disappear, or start in a reduced state. This is very common for malware to do.

What to do: Call if you need help. You should really perform a complete restore because there is no telling what has happened. But if you want to try something less drastic first, research the many methods on how to restore the lost functionality (any Internet search engine will return lots of results), then restart your computer in Safe Mode and start the hard work. I say “hard work” because usually it isn’t easy or quick. Often, I have to try a handful of different methods to find one that works. Precede restoring your software by getting rid of the malware program, using the methods listed above.

I mean lots of money. Online bad guys don’t usually steal a little money. They like to transfer everything or nearly everything, often to a
foreign exchange or bank. Usually it begins by your computer being compromised or from you responding to a fake phish from your bank. In any case, the bad guys log on to your bank, change your contact information, and transfer large sums of money to themselves.

What to do: In most cases you are in luck because most financial institutions will replace the stolen funds (especially if they can stop the transaction before the damage is truly done). However, there have been many cases where the courts have ruled it was the customer’s responsibility to not be hacked, and it’s up to the financial institution to decide whether they will make restitution to you.

If you’re trying to prevent this from happening in the first place, turn on transaction alerts that send text alerts to you when something unusual is happening. Many financial institutions allow you to set thresholds on transaction amounts, and if the threshold is exceeded or it goes to a foreign country, you’ll be warned. Unfortunately, many times the bad guys reset the alerts or your contact information before they steal your money. So make sure your financial institution sends you alerts anytime your contact information or alerting choices are changed.

Sure sign of system compromise No. 11: You get calls from stores about nonpayment of shipped goods

In this case, hackers have compromised one of your accounts, made a purchase, and had it shipped to someplace other than your house.
Oftentimes, the bad guys will order tons of merchandise at the same time, making each business entity think you have enough funds at the beginning, but as each transaction finally pushes through you end up with insufficient funds.

What to do: This is a bad one. First try to think of how your account was compromised. If it was one of the methods above, follow those
recommendations. Either way, change all your logon names and passwords (not just the one related to the single compromised account), call law enforcement, get a case going, and start monitoring your credit. You’ll probably spend months trying to clear up all the bogus transactions committed in your name, but you should be able to undo most, if not all, of the damage.

Years ago you could be left with a negative credit history that would impact your life for a decade. These days, companies and the credit
reporting agencies are more used to cyber crime, and they deal with it better. Still, be aggressive and make sure you follow every bit of advice given to you by law enforcement, the creditors, and the credit-rating agencies (there arethree major ones).

The hope of an anti-malware program that can perfectly detect malware and malicious hacking is pure folly. Keep an eye out for the common signs and symptoms of your computer being hacked as outlined above. And if you are risk-adverse, as I am, always perform a complete computer restore with the event of a breach. Because once your computer has been compromised, the bad guys can do anything and hide anywhere. It’s best to just start from scratch.

Most malicious hacking originates from one of three vectors: unpatched software, running Trojan horse programs, and responding to fake phishing emails. Do better at preventing these three things, and you’ll be less likely to have to rely on your anti-malware software’s accuracy — and luck.

Please call us if you are experiencing any of these problems: 860.635.0500

Computer Networking

Eliminate Your Computer Support Problems

Network down?

Printer offline?

VPN underperforming?

Email over capacity?

Overwhelmed by spam?

System under a virus attack?

We have designed many IT administration and support solutions specifically to solve all these problems and others. Growing organizations do face computer support obstacles like these. But TCC has already faced every obstacle and we know how to ramp your business back up to full efficiency.

Strengths and Skills

With our 24/7 customer support services, immediate response is guaranteed and we’ll stay focused on your needs until the problem has been resolved. Our total IT support services include:

Staff Support

We’ll augment your current IT staff and provide deep technical expertise at a rate more affordable than adding more staff

Risk Minimization

When your IT staff is unavailable, we can immediately resolve many IT problems. Use us as your emergency staff and always have IT help available.

Efficiency Optimization

Regular maintenance and system health reviews reduce downtime and increase the overall efficiency of your network. A thorough IT audit can reduce, if not eliminate, the expense of future infrastructure outages.

We provide, “IT Solutions Done Right.”

Hartford Location

15 Commerce Drive

Cromwell, CT 06416

860.635.0500

By Roger A. Grimes

]]>http://blog.computercompany.net/?feed=rss2&p=9090Why are so many Businesses Moving to the Cloud?http://blog.computercompany.net/?p=1393
http://blog.computercompany.net/?p=1393#commentsThu, 03 Aug 2017 14:10:30 +0000http://blog.computercompany.net/?p=1393Why are so many businesses moving to the cloud? It’s because cloud computing increases efficiency, helps improve cash flow and offers many more benefits…

Check out ten of the best below.By-the-way, any three of the benefits would be enough to convince many businesses to move their business into the cloud. But when you add up all ten? It’s time.

1. Flexibility

Cloud-based services are ideal for businesses with growing bandwidth demands. If your needs increase it’s easy to scale up your cloud capacity, drawing on the service’s remote servers. Likewise, if you need to scale down again, the flexibility is baked into the service. This level of agility can give businesses using cloud computing a real advantage over competitors – it’s not surprising that CIOs and IT Directors rank ‘operational agility’ as a top driver for cloud adoption.

2. Disaster recovery

Businesses of all sizes should be investing in robust disaster recovery, but for smaller businesses that lack the required cash and expertise, this is often more an ideal than the reality. Cloud is now helping more organisations buck that trend. According to Aberdeen Group, small businesses are twice as likely as larger companies to have implemented cloud-based backup and recovery solutions that save time, avoid large up-front investment and roll up third-party expertise as part of the deal.

3. Security

Lost laptops are a billion dollar business problem. And potentially greater than the loss of an expensive piece of kit is the loss of the sensitive data inside it. Cloud computing gives you greater security when this happens. Because your data is stored in the cloud, you can access it no matter what happens to your machine. And you can even remotely wipe data from lost laptops so it doesn’t get into the wrong hands.

4. Capital-expenditure Free

Cloud computing cuts out the high cost of hardware. You simply pay as you go and enjoy a subscription-based model that’s kind to your cash flow. Add to that the ease of setup and management and suddenly your scary, hairy IT project looks at lot friendlier. It’s never been easier to take the first step to cloud adoption.

5. Increased collaboration

When your teams can access, edit and share documents anytime, from anywhere, they’re able to do more together, and do it better. Cloud-based workflow and file sharing apps help them make updates in real time and gives them full visibility of their collaborations.

6. Work from anywhere

With cloud computing, if you’ve got an internet connection, you can be at work. And with most serious cloud services offering mobile apps, you’re not restricted by which device you’ve got to hand.

The result? Businesses can offer more flexible working perks to employees so they can enjoy the work-life balance that suits them – without productivity taking a hit. One study reported that 42% of workers would swap a portion of their pay for the ability to telecommute. On average they’d be willing to take a 6% pay cut.

7. Document control

The more employees and partners collaborate on documents, the greater the need for watertight document control. Before the cloud, workers had to send files back and forth as email attachments to be worked on by one user at a time. Sooner or later – usually sooner – you end up with a mess of conflicting file content, formats and titles.

And as even the smallest companies become more global, the scope for complication rises. According to one study, “73% of knowledge workers collaborate with people in different time zones and regions at least monthly”.

When you make the move to cloud computing, all files are stored centrally and everyone sees one version of the truth. Greater visibility means improved collaboration, which ultimately means better work and a healthier bottom line. If you’re still relying on the old way, it could be time to try something a little more streamlined.

8. Automatic software updates

The beauty of cloud computing is that the servers are off-premise, out of sight and out of your hair. Suppliers take care of them for you and roll out regular software updates – including security updates – so you don’t have to worry about wasting time maintaining the system yourself. Leaving you free to focus on the things that matter, like growing your business.

9. Competitiveness

Wish there was a simple step you could take to become more competitive? Moving to the cloud gives access to enterprise-class technology, for everyone. It also allows smaller businesses to act faster than big, established competitors. Pay-as-you-go service and cloud business applications mean small outfits can run with the big boys, and disrupt the market, while remaining lean and nimble. David now packs a Goliath-sized punch.

10. Environmentally friendly

While the above points spell out the benefits of cloud computing for your business, moving to the cloud isn’t an entirely selfish act. The environment gets a little love too. When your cloud needs fluctuate, your server capacity scales up and down to fit. So you only use the energy you need and you don’t leave over sized carbon footprints. This is something close to our hearts at Salesforce, where we try our best to create sustainable solutions with minimal environmental impact.

Not moved to the cloud yet?

Any three of the above benefits would be enough to convince many businesses to move their business into the cloud. But when you add up all ten? It’s time.

The World Has Gone Mobile. In the United States, of the 260 million adults, 88% have a mobile phone, and roughly half have a tablet.

Mobile phones offer one option to drive sales and conversions. One of the mobile commerce trends that is creating a whole new stream of revenue is tablet users. In the United States, mobile commerce sales on tablets will to grow to $77 billion by 2018. The great thing about sales on tablets is the fact that there is more real estate to work with, giving brands the opportunity to go draw customers into immersive, engaging experiences.

Mobile Coupons

Over 105 million adults in the US used mobile coupons in 2016. This is a clear sign that whether it’s through SMS or push, mobile engagement drives sales directly. With the spread of mobile wallets on Android and iOS continuing to grow, sales on smartphones and tablets will continue to grow.

Important Mobile Commerce and Engagement Statistics You Need to Know About.

75% of Americans bring their phones or tablets to the bathroom.

80% of shoppers admit that they’re more likely to purchase from and interact with a brand that offers an engaging mobile experience (Source: Huffington Post)

78% of small businesses attract new customers through social media (Source: Relevanza)

62% of shoppers search for deals digitally for at least half of their shopping trips (Source:GMA/Booz & Company Shopper Survey)

55% of US Internet users will redeem a digital coupon or code at least once per year (Source: Digital Marketer)

80 percent of mobile users prefer locally relevant advertising and 75 percent are more likely to take an action after seeing a location-specific message (Source: Mobile Audience Insights Report from JiWire)

44% of consumers say that they would like brands to deliver deals and coupons to their mobile devices (Source: CMO Council)

More than 33.3 million U.S. consumers already engage in shopping-related activities on their mobile phones, 7%, or 2.3 million, of those consumers have made a purchase on their devices, the report finds (Source: Experian Simmons, Mobile Consumer Report)

87% of millennials always have their smartphone at their side, day and night.

78% of millennials spend over 2 hours a day using their smartphones.

68% of millennials consider their smartphone to be a personal device (Source: CMO Council)

46 percent of consumers have used their phone to get product information while in a store (Source: Briabe Media)

75% of heavy mobile users said mobile search makes their lives easier, 63% said access to mobile search has changed the way they gather information, and 32% said they use mobile search more than search engines on their computers (Source: Performics Mobile Search Insights Study, conducted by ROI Research)

69% of retail executives said mobile is an important strategic initiative (Source: NRF)

79% of smartphone users found it useful to download mobile coupons to their phones (Source: Accenture, reported by Internet Retailer)

73% of consumers find it useful to receive an instant coupon as they pass by an item in a store (Source: Accenture, reported by Internet Retailer)

73% of shoppers with smartphones prefer to reference their mobile device while in-store rather than ask a sales associate for help (Source: Accenture, reported by Internet Retailer)

62% of consumers use their smartphones to search for a store location or directions (Source: IDC Survey)

40% search for price and product information (Source: IDC Survey)

38% check the status of an order, and, while in store (Source: IDC Survey)

32% browse product reviews (Source: IDC Survey)

So what’s the point?

There is not turning back. To stay competitive we all need to keep moving into the future.